Gift Shoppers Are Different

Most eTailers recognize gift shoppers are an important segment. We serve this group by creating ‘gift guide’ sections with a bunch of products. But by creating a self-serve environment etailers are leaving a lot of money on the table.

Here is a screenshot from the gift buying section on Macys.com:

Clicking the BEAUTY link takes shoppers to the page shown below…

As someone shopping for my girlfriend this page does nothing for me.

To get a bigger share of wallet we need to first develop a better understanding of gift shoppers. Here is my take:

– Gift shoppers are buying for SOMEONE else
– Gift shoppers possibly know less about your products than your core audience
– Gift shoppers have a budget but are not bargain hunters
– Gift shoppers buy more infrequently but consistently (like once a year)

As one looks at this list few ideas emerge:

– Since gift shoppers are not buying for themselves a ‘top seller’ lists could help them drill-down (e.g.: ‘top ‘07 sellers for her’ etc)

– Since gift shoppers know little about your products rich editorial content could help them navigate the labyrinth of choice

– Gift shoppers have a budget so give them budget categories (‘more than $30’, ‘less than $75’, ‘do you really love her that much?’ etc)

– Add gift shoppers to your email list and send them reminders a few weeks before annual events